Roman
Torso of Dionysus, 140 CE - 190 CE
Course-grained Greek marble , 128.3 x 38.7 x 34.9 cm (50 1/2 x 15 1/4 x 13 3/4 in.)
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This sculpture of Dionysus is carved in a somewhat coarse, cream colored marble. It is irregularly veined with rust colored, spidery discolorations. Dionysus’ body is thin and not heavily muscled. His head, arms, lower legs, and genitals are broken off or missing. His weight is on his right leg with his right hip jutting out. His long torso bends to his right at his waist, which lowers his right shoulder and elevates his left. His narrow shoulders are covered with wavy locks of hair that reach to his armpits. Attached to the upper part of his left side is a marble fragment carved with a bundle of grapes and their leaves. The whole body rests on a rough, gray marble base. A metal bar can be seen running from the base into his left leg, appearing to hold him up and stabilize him.
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Commentary
The languid pose of the figure – hip jutting out as he leans against a vine stump – is derived ultimately from the celebrated works of Praxiteles. The most famous example of the pose was the Apollo Sauroktonos (Lizard-Slayer), known through numerous Roman marble copies of the lost bronze. The use of the drill in defining the leaves and grapes suggests that this work was carved in the Antonine period of the Roman Empire.
Source: Eye of the Beholder, edited by Alan Chong et al. (Boston: ISGM and Beacon Press, 2003): 14.
Source: Eye of the Beholder, edited by Alan Chong et al. (Boston: ISGM and Beacon Press, 2003): 14.